The one is the austerest of Classics, caring only for the
ultimate perfection of his work. The other is the gayest of Romantics,
happiest when by the way he produces a glittering effect, or dazzles the
ear by a vain impertinence. Now, it is by thievery that Peace reached
magnificence. A natural aptitude drove him from the fiddle to the
centre-bit. He did but rob, because genius followed the impulse. He
had studied the remotest details of his business; he was sternly
professional in the conduct of his life, and, as became an old
gaol-bird, there was no antic of the policeman wherewith he was not
familiar. Moreover, not only had he reduced house-breaking to a science,
but, being ostensibly nothing better than a picture-frame maker, he had
invented an incomparable set of tools wherewith to enter and evade
his neighbour's house. Brodie, on the other hand, was a thief for
distraction. His method was as slovenly as ignorance could make it.
Though by trade a wright, and therefore a master of all the arts of
joinery, he was so deficient in seriousness that he stole a coulter
wherewith to batter the walls of the Excise Office. While Peace fought
the battle in solitude, Brodie was not only attended by a gang, but
listened to the command of his subordinates, and was never permitted to
perform a more intricate duty than the sounding of the alarm. And yet
here is the ironical contrast. Peace, the professional thief, despised
his brothers, and was never heard to patter a word of flash.
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